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Raising kids has never been easy, but today’s parents are facing skyrocketing costs, technology built to addict kids to screens, and predators who use that technology to do the unthinkable. The constant barrage of social media, AI bots, and new apps can impact brain development and build dopamine tolerance that erodes social and emotional maturity, and numbs kids to violence and vulgar content. Teenagers are being flooded with personalized invitations to try gambling and sports betting, or find spaces that glorify harassment, bullying or even predation.
That last threat is growing exponentially. In 1998, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 3,000 reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. In 2023, it received more than 36 million. Researchers now estimate that roughly one in 12 children worldwide is a victim of online sexual exploitation or abuse each year. We need to scale up our national response to this crisis, with greater resources for parents and law enforcement and greater liability for any technology company contributing to such crimes.